As I was driving to work this morning, I felt frustrated that I got behind a bus & had to make several stops, which would put me arriving to work right on time instead of having those seven minutes to get my coffee warmed up & put things down at my desk. I'd have to run to my spot in the meeting starting as soon as I walked through the door.
As I watched kids get on the bus, I quickly was reminded there’s so much more to life than getting where we’re going. Don’t get me wrong - being on time at work is important. But there’s so much more than being on time, such as being kind & compassionate. I wasn’t outwardly doing anything unkind that anyone would have ever known. No one knew what was going through my mind as I was being stopped repeatedly.
But then I watched a mom walk her child to the bus, blow multiple kisses, & walk backward to the house so she could see as it was driving away, and then wave big as it took its final takeoff.
Looking at her face, it seemed as if she could start to tear up at any moment. I don’t know her. I don’t know if it was a face that said she was proud that her child happily got on the bus today. Maybe she had a hard morning, & this was a relieving moment for her. Perhaps she was mourning a new milestone because, as a parent, I know that that is particularly hard – being so happy to see them grow & sad to watch them grow up simultaneously.
Here's what I do know: having compassion for that mom, even though she had no idea what I was doing, was transforming my heart on the way to work. To realize that every person on this earth is created in God's image. Every single person on this earth is a masterpiece of God. Every single person can ask Jesus to come into their heart at any point in life.
As you go about your day today & see people walking, getting on a bus, going to work, or taking more time than you wish, remember that they're made in the image of God & choose to give them a little grace, just as Jesus gives us grace everyday.